1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gate entry system for regulating passages of passengers.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a conventional gate entry system for regulating passages of passengers, there is an automatic checking and collecting machine used at a railway station, for example. In order to pass the automatic checking and collecting machine, the user enters a commutation pass of the user into the automatic checking and collecting machine, and if the commutation pass is recognized as valid, the user can pass the automatic checking and collecting machine. For this reason, by the use of the automatic checking and collecting machine, it has been possible to comprehend users of the station accurately, while limiting passages of users quickly.
However, in the conventional automatic checking and collecting machine, a ticket or pass conveyor section and a ticket or pass examination section have been expensive so that the price of the automatic checking and collecting machine itself has been very high. Also, the conveyor section requires the fine-tuning and the maintenance cost due to its severe operating environment. In addition, when the area for placing the automatic checking and collecting machine is limited, the automatic checking and collecting machine itself is so large that there has been a drawback that it is difficult to place many automatic checking and collecting machines. Also, there has been an inconvenience that tickets usable for the automatic checking and collecting machine can be purchased only at limited places such as the railway station.
As a technique for overcoming such drawbacks, there is a contactless radio IC card (ISO14443). The contactless radio IC card is formed by a short range radio communication unit of the electromagnetic induction type, a tamper-resistant memory, and a process unit MPU, and the automatic checking and collecting machine can detect and check the card in a short period of several hundred msec., when the card is brought within a distance of approximately 10 cm from a reader/writer implemented in the automatic checking and collecting machine. The user can pass the automatic checking and collecting machine by simply holding the commutation pass card close to the reader/writer, so that there is no need for the conveyor section.
On the other hand, the radio technology for use in the portable telephone and the like has been developed recently, and in particular the short range radio technology called Bluetooth is currently attracting much attentions. The Bluetooth is designed for the consumer use and the mobile use so that it has features of a low power consumption and a low cost, and it is expected to be installed on many portable devices in near future. The Bluetooth can cooperate not only with the personally owned devices but also with any peripheral electronic devices, so that it has a potential for providing the powerful network infrastructure for realizing various services.
Compared with the contactless radio IC card, the Bluetooth has drawbacks in its long processing time and its weak security. However, if it is possible to develop an automatic checking and collecting machine in which the user can pass by utilizing a portable telephone with the Bluetooth installed thereon, there can be an advantage in that it becomes possible for the user to pass the automatic checking and collecting machine by utilizing his own portable telephone without being required to purchase a ticket or the like. Also, by utilizing the Bluetooth for the other purposes, it can be expected that a highly attractive commercial market will be created.
However, in the case of applying the Bluetooth to the automatic checking and collecting machine, there is a possibility for erroneously establishing the communication connection with the Bluetooth of the terminal device owned by a person other than the passenger who is currently trying to pass the automatic checking and collecting machine (such as a subsequent passenger, for example) and checking that other person""s ticket rather than the passenger""s ticket.
Also, when a plurality of passengers enter into the automatic checking and collecting machine consecutively, the communication data of the plurality of passengers will come into the radio wave reachable range of the Bluetooth on the automatic checking and collecting machine, such that it becomes impossible for the automatic checking and collecting machine side to check tickets in the correct order by which the passengers entered the automatic checking and collecting machine.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a gate entry system capable of carrying out the processing of the passengers properly at the automatic checking and collecting machine side, even when the Bluetooth is applied to the automatic checking and collecting machine, for example.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a gate entry system for regulating passages of passengers, comprising: a wall unit configured to form a passageway that is extended along a passing direction of the passengers; a gate unit provided at an exit side of the passageway, which is capable of being opened or closed to regulate the passages of the passengers; human sensors configured to sense the passengers in the passageway; a radio communication unit configured to detect a number of passengers entering into the passageway according to outputs of the human sensors, and carry out transmission/reception of data with respect to at least one terminal device of one passenger; and a control unit configured to control opening or closing of the gate unit according to the data received by the radio communication unit.